Hypothesis: A considerable amount of sugar different to the 'sugars' shown in the Nutritional Value (32 g) table of the soda (ginger ale) will be extracted by boiling the liquid on a pot.
Null hypothesis: There will be no difference in the amount of sugar extracted, it will be the same amount.
Independent variable: Soda can (ginger ale)
Dependent variable: Amount of sugar extracted from the soda can (measured in grams)
Standardized variables:
- Cooking pot temperature (boiling point)
- Time it takes to evaporate the liquid (13 minutes)
- Places where heat was conducted to the pot
- Weight of a standard soda can (12 fl oz = 354 g)
Ingredients:
- Schweppes Ginger Ale soda can (12 fl oz)
- Cooking pot (any size)
Experiment:
1. Weigh the cooking pot on a scale (45 g in this experiment)
2. Open the soda can and pour it in a measuring cup to get the volume if needed but usually it will be the same for soda cans (12 fl oz = 354 g)
3. Pour the liquid into the cooking pot, place it on the stove and bring heat to boil.
4. Check the soda as it gets evaporated and stir frequently with a metal spoon (preferably) until a thick brown layer of liquid is on the bottom of the cooking pot.
5. Remove the cooking pot from the stove. Let it cool down then weigh the cooking pot again with the liquid in it.
6. The weight of the cooking pot will be subtracted from the last recorded weight of the pot with sugar.
7. The weight recorder will be the amount of sugar of the soda can.
Results:
The soda evaporated in 13 minutes leaving a fairly thick and sticky layer of brown liquid on the bottom of the cooking pot. The results rejected the hypothesis because the amount of sugar found in the can by boiling it is very similar (32 g in can vs. 31.3 g in pot)
At the very end of the process, after the cooking pot cools down a measurement of weight has to be taken with the liquid inside the pot. Afterwards, simple math is applied and the initial measurement of only the pot is subtracted from the full weight of the pot with the sugars inside.
The hypothesis was rejected because the amount of sugars obtained was incredibly close to what the Nutritional Value table says on the back of the soda can.
Problems:
It is very hard to determine when is it only sugar left in the bottom of the pan. Maybe I burned more sugar than what I was supposed to or less. Also, since it is a sticky liquid it attaches to the pot somehow so not all of it will be measured.
It would be interesting to test it with other types of soda like Coke or Sprite.
Pictures of the experiment:
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| Weight of the cooking pot with sugar in it |
It is very hard to determine when is it only sugar left in the bottom of the pan. Maybe I burned more sugar than what I was supposed to or less. Also, since it is a sticky liquid it attaches to the pot somehow so not all of it will be measured.
It would be interesting to test it with other types of soda like Coke or Sprite.
Pictures of the experiment:
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| Pouring soda in the pot |
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| Sugar left in cooking pot |
Cosmosis! I like that you did an experiment with just a liquid. Sugar as we discussed is a very important part of our world of foods. Your hypothesis was interesting and I think this experiment could be used to examine for example the difference between coke and Pepsi products. Nicely Done!
ReplyDeleteI was very curious if your hypothesis would be supported by your experiment. If the company did lie about the nutritional value, they would be in big trouble. I doubt they would risk that. I think you should try out mountain dew anyways! Maybe you are onto something!
ReplyDeleteAlejandro great job, your experiment was very interesting! i think it might be cool if you try comparing the sugar between a coke and a diet coke to see if it really has less sugar.
ReplyDeleteHey Cos,
ReplyDeleteI really like this experiment. It is well thought out and executed nicely. I was a bit surprised that your hypothesis was rejected. I would have thought there would be less sugar in the pot after cooking. I would like to see this experiment done with different types of soft drinks to see if it had the same results.